Nuns: Archdiocese Misunderstood Vatican Decree Over Former Los Feliz Convent Sought By Katy Perry
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Two nuns claim in newly filed court papers that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles used an incorrect translation of a Vatican decree to convince a judge to clear the way to sell a former convent in Los Feliz to singer Katy Perry.
The decree, when properly translated from its original Latin into English, states that the dispute was still being decided in Rome, according to court documents filed Monday on behalf of Sisters Rita Callanan and Catherine Rose Holzman.
The nuns allege the archdiocese did not give that information to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephanie Bowick when she nullified a sale of the property to businesswoman Dana Hollister.
"Then, just hours after the court announced its (April 13) decision, (the nuns) learned for the first time that the (archdiocese) actually knew, at least three weeks before the decision, that proceedings remained in (Rome), but failed to inform the court of that crucial fact," according to the nuns' court papers.
Callanan and Holzman, two of five members of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, favored the sale to Hollister. They are asking Bowick to reconsider her ruling blocking the Hollister sale or a stay of her orders pending a decision on the issues from the Vatican.
A hearing is scheduled June 20.
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